


Benched

by poifan_588



Series: The Stakes [3]
Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: Character Study, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-19
Updated: 2015-08-19
Packaged: 2018-04-15 14:19:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4609926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poifan_588/pseuds/poifan_588
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I am going to kill that lying psycho." Shaw said, clenching her teeth.<br/>"Ms. Shaw, please--"<br/>"I'm gonna blowtorch her ass and toss her off a building."</p><p>A diaglogue between Finch and Shaw in the subway just after she wakes up, discussing Root drugging and abducting Shaw the day before. This talk takes place before Root shows up, in the morning of the events of 4x10 (The Cold War) and 4x11 (If-Then-Else).</p>
            </blockquote>





	Benched

"What the hell is this, Harold?"  
  
"You're awake," Finch said, as he got up from his desk and walked over to Shaw. She was sitting up on the cot, examining the handcuffs that bound her right hand to the metal frame. Her expression was dark.  
  
Finch swallowed and stopped several feet away. "Sameen, we had to bring you back to the subway without being discovered. I'm afraid that Ms. Groves took a rather drastic measure, but that was the only way to get you back here safely."  
  
"Where's Root?" Shaw's eyes flashed.  
  
"The Machine requested her presence somewhere in the Upper West Side--"  
  
"I am going to kill that lying psycho." Shaw said, clenching her teeth.  
  
"Ms. Shaw, please--"  
  
"I'm gonna blowtorch her ass and toss her off a building."  
  
"If you would have gone to help John, there was an alarming chance that Samaritan would have found you, then subsequently, all of us. Ms. Groves was trying to prevent that, and she couldn't convince you to come here willingly."  
  
Shaw barked. "John needed backup while running with the mob!"  
  
"But John made it out, and so did Elias."  
  
That toned down Shaw's anger. "Is John okay?"  
  
"Yes, thankfully he wasn't injured. He's out getting some breakfast for us, so he'll be stopping by before heading to work."  
  
"Good. Now, would you please get me the hell out of these cuffs?"  
  
"I'm afraid Ms. Shaw, John asked me to keep you here until he comes back."  
  
"Unbelievable."  
  
"We're in a dire situation now, with your cover blown." Finch looked at Shaw. "And we can't afford to lose you."  
  
"So you had that bondage fetishist loose on me? That is _not_ okay, Harold."  
  
"I wish things could’ve been different--"  
  
"You think? Yeah, I'm going to tie her to a rock and throw her off the Brooklyn Bridge."  
  
"This is not a game, Ms. Shaw."  
  
"No shit! She lied to me, took me to some random building and shot me full of tranquiliser." Shaw grit her teeth. "Yep, I’m gonna run her over with a truck after I hightail it outta here."  
  
"Sameen. Please listen." Finch hesitantly sat down next to Shaw, and turned his body to face her as she radiated anger.  
  
"We need to stay hidden and under the radar, and until we figure out what to do with your situation, I'm afraid that you should not be venturing outside. For all of our sakes."  
  
Shaw continued to glare at Finch. They held each other's gaze for a beat until she broke eye contact, rolling her eyes and turning her head slightly away from him.  
  
"Better hope John brings back something with real meat for breakfast, because I'm gonna Shawshank out of here if I have to get by with some shitty-ass pieces of toast."  
  
“Don’t worry, he knows.” Finch sighed. “I know, Ms. Shaw, that our work is inherently risky. But we are only a few against Samaritan's infinite resources. We must do our best to keep our risks at a minimum so that we could live on to fight this war."  
  
Shaw mulled over what he said. Then she spoke up again, quietly. "Do you think we could win?"  
  
"The odds are stacked against us. But we must try."  
  
"This war...knew when I signed up, there's a good chance that I'll end up dead. Right now, it’s not looking good for us, is it?"  
  
"We musn't think that way. We need to stay alive, to win. We, and the Machine, are the only chance that the world has against Samaritan."  
  
Shaw frowned. "What is it about these damn machines? Why do we care whether they fight against each other? Technology comes and goes, and history moves on."  
  
"This is different. These machines have a will, and unfathomable power in today's world, a world that's controlled by information. This is a battle for humanity and life as we know it. For our future."  
  
"I prefer to stick to the present, thanks."  
  
"Hasn't this job taught you though, that we can shape the course of future events?"  
  
"Not the way _you_ talk about it." Shaw absent-mindedly placed her thumb on her chin. "You know, I used to believe life is meaningless. We're just pieces of meat that'll croak and rot underground one day. Circle of life, all that. That's why I used to say, enjoy life, be good at what you enjoy doing, and don't be bored."  
  
Shaw took on a distant look. "Someone told me a long ago that I could never be a doctor, I could never save people because it doesn't hurt me to see them suffer. But you know, since this job, I've gotten used to saving people. Still don't care much what happens to them, but there are people here that I do care about. I'm actually getting used to the idea that life is not essentially meaningless." A small smile appeared in the corners of her lips.  
  
"Because everyone's relevant to someone, as you say." Shaw looked directly at Harold. "If you have a chance to save someone you care about now, but that will cost you in the future, would you do it?"  
  
"It depends."  
  
" _I_ would _._ Honestly, I don't give a rat’s ass about what these AIs want. But what I do know is that idiot Root's willing to die for the Machine. And I know that John will follow you off a cliff. I’m the one,” Shaw emphasized, “that’s going to have to save their asses.”  
  
Finch's expression was indecipherable, as he mulled over what Shaw said. He then spoke up again. "Still, we must keep you here until we figure out a way to protect you from Samaritan's sights, so that our covers could stay intact.”  
  
“Fine.” Shaw dropped her gaze to the floor. "John made it out okay, so it turns out that you two nerds were right about yesterday." She smirked. "Might have to consider not setting Root on fire."  
  
Finch looked at her disapprovingly.  
  
Shaw scoffed. "To be honest, Harold, I would've done the same. I mean, when John first got his cover ID and proceeded to grenade launcher it out of existence, it was me who knocked his ass out and brought him to his senses. Drugging’s mostly not my thing, but I understand what Root did."  
  
"I'm glad to hear that, Ms. Shaw."  
  
"It's just...didn't sit right with me, that's all."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because…because it was Root, that little shit."  
  
"It's the people who we care about that could hurt us the most."  
  
"Wasn't hurt. Just thought we had an understanding."  
  
"Root can be over-zealous and cross over a line."  
  
"No, Root was right to do what she did. Should've seen it sooner. And I shouldn't have put her in harm’s way by insisting." Shaw seemed to be, at this point, talking to herself, her eyebrows furrowed in concentration.  
  
"Because Root is important." As the words escaped her mouth, Shaw became still, her breath caught in her throat. Then just as suddenly, she became aware of herself and also of Finch's gaze.  
  
Shaw cleared her throat. "...I mean, she’s our resident kidnapping expert, right?”  
  
Finch’s face fell. "In any case, I’d rather not have you two fighting here. Because that would be...rather frightening."  
  
"No promises, Harold."  
  
"Then please do so for Bear. He gets upset when we raise our voices."  
  
"Really Harold? That’s just low, using Bear to push me around."  
  
Finch wiggled his eyebrows at Shaw.  
  
"Okay, fine, I'll try not to yell at Root. But only for Bear."  
  
Bear trotted over to Shaw when he heard his name mentioned a few times, and Shaw greeted him with her free hand. Finch got up and walked back toward his desk.  
  
Shaw leaned in toward Bear. "Between you and me, I'll buy you a big-ass cow femur later if you go full attack dog on Root when she comes by."  
  
Bear looked up at her with his big, brown eyes.  
  
"Ugh, Bear. Straight out of Harold's playbook. What's with you two and guilt?"  
  
Shaw scratched his ears. “I forgive you, buddy. We’ve got bigger things to worry about anyway. I'm gonna stay for now, but get ready, ‘cause we might have to play Chief and McMurphy at some point. Well, minus the lobotomy. Nurse Ratched over there can kiss my ass.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> It’s most likely that Shaw had this conversation with Reese off-screen rather than Finch, but I wrote it as an exercise to imagine how it would be if Finch and Shaw had more dialogues together in the show, and to think about Shaw's motivations. Finch and Shaw are a difficult conversational pair outside of work context. “I wanna shoot the shit out of this.” “I’m afraid that’s not possible Ms. Shaw.” “I say hell yes.” *silence* / “This kicks ass.” “No.” “What are you, the fun police?” *judgmental frown*


End file.
